Specials Learning Previews - 5/14/19

Health and Wellness: Mr. McNulty [email protected]
6th Grade: Students are continuing to learn about the 5 food groups and 6 essential nutrients that their body needs. They will be learning how to read food labels, daily sugar and sodium intake and how to create a meal plan.

7th Grade: Students are learning about E-cigarette Prevention. They will be learning about how to resist negative peer and social media influences, the health hazards e-cigs present, and all the healthy alternative options they have.

8th Grade: Students are in their Substance Abuse Prevention Unit. They will be learning about the dangers of misusing prescription and over the counter medicine, the stages of addiction and how drugs and alcohol can negatively impact their future.

Physical Education: Mr. Chris Moore, [email protected]
Grade 6: Students are wrapping up the fitnessgram curl-up, push-up, pacer, and sit & reach assessments. Next, students will begin their lifestyle/individual and dual activities unit. Students will partake in various lifestyle and target/striking activities including KanJam, cornhole, wiffle ball, and other various recreational games. The primary objective will be for students to work collaboratively, and recognize the value of participating in recreational activities.

Grades 7 & 8: Students are wrapping up the fitnessgram curl-up, push-up, pacer, and sit & reach assessments. Next students will begin their lifestyle individual and dual activities unit by partaking in frisbee skill building (including KanJam), that will then be followed up with a class ultimate frisbee tournament. Students will then partake in other various lifestyle recreational activities including tennis, basketball, and kickball (with 8th graders having a choice of other various target/striking games as the unit progresses and they are closer and closer to graduating!)

Art: Ms. Lee [email protected]
Here is a recap on the assignments and projects created from this school year, with most of the artwork currently displayed in the RAUC hallways and ceiling. Feel free to stop by before June to appreciate your child’s creative and artistic side!

6th graders started the new semester/year with a two-partner drawing assignments: police sketch artist and exquisite corps. Another group assignment involved creating flat transient sculptures of animals/cartoon characters using purely found objects. Such objects usually have other functions besides art--such as plastic spoons, bolts, paper clips, bottle caps, etc. These activities set a fun and community-building tone to their new art class. Then they worked on 3D collages, a project that let students experiment with foreground, middleground, background using foam core to create layers and various degrees of depth. Students also refined their fine-motor skills with the use of scissors. Two sections had time to fit in an optical illusion 3D spheres drawing assignment, in which students created a checkerboard pattern in the background and spheres. They experimented with using various types of lines and creating shadows with charcoal to create a 3-D illusion of spheres popping out of the paper. At the start of spring, students began and continue to work on a Leluja-style cut-paper project, which is a form of Polish art that involves the use of symmetry, nature, and a central tree-like form. Students are now finishing up their Leluja-style cut-paper project. They sketched out a first draft and developed their patience and paper-cutting skills in cutting out the design. Students will then use the draft to trace their designs onto colored paper and cut out the final draft. Next year, as 7th graders, all students will have art twice a week for the entire year so more projects will be accomplished.

In 7th grade, students started the year working cooperatively with an Exquisite Corpse drawing game as well as a few team challenges using wire. They transitioned onto a relief block-printing project using 1x1 rubber blocks. Students sketched and carved ¼ of their overall designs, then used markers, block-printing techniques, and repetition to stamp and turn a simple design into a more intricate and interesting image. 7th graders then moved onto a longer-term soft-sculpture project. The subject matter is boundless, as students can choose to create an animal, a made-up creature, or living/non-living objects--as long as wings are attached as these objects will be “flying.” The goal was to have students brainstorm and problem-solve ways to transform ordinary found-objects such as newspaper, cardboard, bottle caps, etc. into solid whimsical and colorful flying sculptures. After creating the armature (the meat or framework), students used papier-mache paste and strips of newspaper to form a slightly hardened and cohesive surface (the “skin”). The surface is then primed with gesso to prepare the sculpture for painting, a process in which students refined their work with details, facial features, patterns, embellishments, etc. The next project involved copper and repousse + chasing techniques. Students used bubble letters, transformed objects into their names and arranged letters in a creative and personal way. They transferred the designs onto a copper sheets, then used wooden tools to emboss/indent and create a raised design. The copper is then mounted on black paper for contrast. Students also used metallic color pencils to create drawings that thematically related to their copper design. Currently, students are ending the year with more printmaking, this time using foam sheets. Ultimately, students will learn to apply proper amounts of block-printing ink, use the brayers to effectively spread ink onto their work and create multiple editions of their print.

8th graders also started the year working cooperatively with an Exquisite Corpse drawing game as well as a few team challenges using wire. Students eased into the year with a fun and low-risk assignment by creating a Gustav Klimt-style portrait on gold scratchboard. Students first found head and hands of a human/animal from magazines. Then students will use scratchboard tools to draw and etch bodies, legs, and a background scene. Empty spaces can be filled with geometric/organic lines and patterns--similar to Klimt’s Golden Phase paintings. This assignment is low-risk in that garments and body proportions need not be realistic. Portrait results tend to be either beautiful, quirky, fanciful, silly, or all of the above. The next assignment encouraged students to use the interaction between positive and negative space in creating a visually-interesting image for their cut-paper Notan designs. Notan is a Japanese word that means light-dark. Positive space is the main object, focus or subject(s) whereas negative space is the space around and in between an object or the subject(s) of an image. Students start off with a square, then cut out simple/complex shapes, and use space, symmetry, and asymmetry as design elements to complete the image. The following project is to use the grid method in drawing as well as various drawing techniques to accurately enlarge a 4x6 image of their choice onto a 12x18 paper. This project is time-consuming, as there are a lot of details involved. It is also designed to help students build confidence in their drawing abilities by visually and physically breaking down a complex image into smaller parts. Students relearn how to draw what they actually see, not what they think they know. Next, students have the choice of continuing to use the grid method and techniques to create a two-toned high contrast self-portrait. They first used the grid method to draw and enlarge the shapes of their facial features onto a canvas panel, which is a laborious process. When the outline and shapes are accurate, they will then turn their drawings into paintings. Students who choose to work on a symbolic self-portrait brainstormed ideas/objects that best represent themselves. They are currently drawing and painting a cohesive imagery on canvas board. Students in the Independent Studies class spent the school year designing their own curriculum, with some students focusing on a series of paintings, some students dabbled in collage work and discovering their drawing styles, and somewhere in between, a microwave made from cardboard was created.

Theater Arts: Ms. Elguindy [email protected]
6th grade: In two sections of 6th grade students have been writing their own original scenes and performing them for their peers. We will end the year by observing some examples of professional theater and wrapping up with a final scene project.
One section of 6th grade is beginning to explore using their voice in a creative way while creating characters in a scene.

8th grade: The 8th grade theater arts students are wrapping up the year by self-directing their own production of a comedic script. Students will apply the knowledge they have been developing all year into creating interesting stage pictures, compelling characters and pacing to perform this short play.

Spanish. Mr. Paras. [email protected]
Grade 6: We will start by learning some forms of the verb ser as well as vocabulary for chapter 1b which focuses on personality traits. By learning the verb ser and our chapter 1b vocabulary, we should be able to describe people. In class, we will write about personality traits we find in ourselves as well as others. We will work on some activities using quizlet. Quizlet will help us practice the vocabulary and structure in chapter 1b. Students will practice describing others by watching a video and then writing about traits we find in other people. In class, we will then create a poster about describing people. We will continue practicing using the verb ser by creating a google slide and then choosing 4 famous people, present or past and write short paragraphs about each person. After we complete this activity, we will present this to other students. The classmates will take notes and then give feedback on the paragraphs they wrote. Lastly, we will work on using definite articles and then practice making nouns singular or plural. How do we use definite articles when writing sentences. Students will then move onto learning about indefinite articles and the differences between definite and indefinite articles.

Grade 7: Students will start by working on the use of noun + de + noun to write about some foods that they eat or don’t eat. Students will then create a poster about foods using this formula in which they will include some foods from their own culture. We will move onto create a healthy food bingo sheet and then play so that they can practice the healthy food vocabulary. With this, students will write about foods they like or don’t like. To conclude our food unit, we will look at menus from hispanic restaurants and then create a menu with partners. Each person will have a section of the menu to complete. We will then move onto chapter 4a. The verb ir- to go will be introduced along with our chapter 4a vocabulary that involves places in the community. They will then create a google slide saying what places in the community they go to or do not go to. We will then create a weekly calendar in which students say where they go in the community each day of the week. In class we will then describe places to a partner and the partner will have to guess the place they are trying to describe.

Grade 8: Our next unit will be on clothing. We will use our world language placemat on clothing to start this activity. Students will then create a google slide about clothing using verbs such as comprar and llevar. In class, we will review the numbers up to 1,000. We will then create a poster of clothing items using the price of each item and the color of each item. Students will then have another option of creating a poster which will include which items of clothing they wear in each season. They will then write down what clothing they would buy if they had a $1,000. In our last unit, we will learn about the past tense and how to conjugate verbs using the past tense. We will also learn about some irregular past tense verbs. Students will then write about a clothing gift they bought someone using the past tense. What words automatically put the past tense into use? We will discuss this and then go over some sentences with these verbs. Students will then write some sentences using these verbs and the past tense. This will be done on google slides with a photo representing the sentences. Lastly, we will create a poster or a google slide. They will have to write a paragraph in the past tense about a competition, musical performance or a fictional event. Before we start this, students will be given a sample paragraph and we will go over it and what it means.

French & Spanish: Mr. Pischner [email protected]
6th, French: Students will continue working with our T’es Branché textbook by navigating our “Métro” stations circuit, where students rotate through a series of tasks involving listening, reading, writing, speaking, vocabulary games, and reflection/culture. While MCAS continues (reducing our class meetings), our new learning targets have students increasing the amount of their spoken production by reinforcing vocabulary and expressions to navigate their classroom and school-day needs, notably using the verbal expression “avoir besoin de” (to have need of) and the closed yes/no questions to ask permission to do various activities. They will also continue to work with listening comprehension using authentic materials on the French webpage for kids: “Un jour; une question,” where they will learn about the cathedral Notre-Dame de Paris, for example, which was in the news recently.

7th, French: Students will continue working with our T’es Branché textbook by navigating our “Métro” stations circuit, where students rotate through a series of tasks involving listening, reading, writing, speaking, vocabulary games, and reflection/culture. While MCAS continues (reducing our class meetings), our new learning targets have students increasing the amount of their spoken production by reinforcing vocabulary and expressions to navigate their classroom and school-day needs, notably using some new variations of expressions of courtesy (e.g. merci mille fois, je t’en prie, among others) and using all three ways of asking closed yes/no questions (i.e. “Est-ce que…,” intonation, and subject-verb inversion) to request their teacher to perform various activities. They will also continue to work with listening comprehension using authentic materials on the French webpage for kids: “Un jour; une question,” where they will learn about Ramadan, which connects with content they previously studied in Social Studies.

8th, French: Students will continue working with our T’es Branché textbook by navigating our “Métro” stations circuit, where students rotate through a series of tasks involving listening, reading, writing, speaking, vocabulary games, and reflection/culture. While MCAS continues (reducing our class meetings), our new learning targets have students learning the common past tense (passé composé) for regular verbs. They will also continue to work with listening comprehension using authentic materials on the French webpage for kids: “Un jour; une question,” where they will learn about school in other francophone countries.

8th, Spanish: Students will continue working with our Realidades textbook, and our new learning targets have students telling what happened in the past by using the past simple verb tense (pretérito) for regular verbs while also learning new vocabulary to talk about buying gifts. We will also continue working with the listening comprehension station we set up last month, which allows students to use headphones and work together in small groups on the Realidades telenovela “¿Eres tú María?”

Music Studio: Mr. Fairbanks, [email protected]
6th/7th Grade: Both 6th and 7th grade are wrapping up their 30 second radio advertisement project, a project where they had to think of a product they would like to sell, create a script to read off of as if they were preparing a commercial, and record themselves reading the script to music they have created.

8th Grade: 8th grade will be getting introduced to Soundtrap, a music program that gives students access to thousands of sounds, allowing them to create and compose their own music. This program will be a tool to understanding the sections of a song and how to “arrange” a song that already exists.

Orchestra: Ms. Brittany Phillips [email protected]
The 6th Grade Orchestra performed brilliantly in our 2nd annual All Strings Concert on May 8th. Students demonstrated swing-style rhythms for “The Lion Sleeps Tonight”, showcased their advanced b minor skills in “Dragon Hunter”, and brought the house down in our rock anthem, “Power Rock.” Students are still energized and excited from their concert, and we will spend the remainder of the school reinforcing our note reading skills and preparing for more challenging repertoire in the 7th grade orchestra next year.

The 7th grade orchestra & 8th grade orchestra wowed the audience in their 2nd annual All Strings Concert on May 8th. They performed challenging repertoire in a wide range of major and minor keys. Students have expressed feeling more confident and more knowledgeable with their instrumental skills, and their progress is undeniable. I am very proud of the 7th & 8th grade students for the hard work they put into preparing for this concert. To my graduating rising 8th graders: we will continue to dig in and aim high for the remainder of the school year. I cannot wait until 8th grade orchestra with you all next year. To my rising 9th graders: you have left a lasting impression on me and your fellow orchestra students in 5-7th grade. Thank you for being such great musical mentors. You will be greatly missed next year!

Chorus: Grades 6-8, Mr. DeWitte, [email protected]
Grade 6: Students performed well at the Spring concert. I was inspired by their hard work as well as their agency in the concert. The concert was about growing up and it seemed fitting that their final performance was such a great representation of how much they have grown as musicians and as students this year. For the remainder of the school year, singers will create a record label that will include designing a brand as well as performing and possibly recording some music onto their label. It is an opportunity for students to learn about the music business.

Grades 7 & 8: Students performed well at the Spring concert. I was inspired by their hard work as well as their agency in the concert. The concert was about growing up and it seemed fitting that their final performance was such a great representation of how much they have grown as musicians and as students. 7th Graders will work on singing in an acapella setting for the remainder of the school year and 8th graders will learn music for the 8th grade graduation ceremony

Urban Legends, Grades 7 & 8: Students perform so well at the concert. They performed music that is typically found among high school drum lines. I am so proud of their hard work and accomplishment. For the remainder of the year, they will continue to work on mastering rudiments as well as looking ahead to future performances.

Patrick Wroge | [email protected]
6th, 7th, 8th grade Band: Bravo on a spectacular performance! Definitely one of the best! We have progressed individually and as a Band this year. I am very proud of you!


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